Ether fell to $2,315 on Bitstamp on Thursday, its lowest price since the mid-August breakout rally. Almost $270 million in ETH longs were wrecked in 24 hours, while Wintermute kept building short positions.
ETH slumped to $2,315 on Bitstamp, down $200 for the day. The price is the lowest since the breakout rally in the middle of August.
The entire cryptocurrency market is in the red, but the largest altcoin is among those hit harder. Almost $270 million worth of ETH longs were wrecked in the past 24 hours.
Leveraged longs get cleared after the CPI print
On Binance, more than $106 million in ETH long positions were liquidated within one hour after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data. According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, it was the largest hourly liquidation of ETH longs on the exchange in nearly six months.
Darkfost also noted that crypto futures trading volume is roughly nine times spot volume, which increases the market's vulnerability to economic shocks. Meanwhile, expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike have climbed from 17% to nearly 30% in one week.
Shorts pile in as Wintermute adds
Open interest skyrocketed on Wednesday after the slightly higher-than-expected CPI reading. Daan Crypto Traders reported that many shorts emerged and piled into the downside momentum, leaving little room for a short squeeze.
Separately, Wintermute, one of the largest market makers, continues to build on its short ETH positions. Onchain Lens noted that the firm holds $75 million worth of shorts on Hyperliquid, and ETH is among its largest positions.
ETF flows turn negative
The funds added to the pressure. After gaining nearly $25 million in net inflows on Tuesday, Ethereum ETFs turned red on Wednesday, with almost $130 million leaving.
Sources: CryptoPotato, Coinpedia Fintech News (snippet-based)
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